Wall Street’s most hated GameStop stock rose again on Friday as massive short presses continued to fuel the explosive rally.
Video game stock rose a staggering 69.4% on Friday to a high of $ 72.88, taking profits over 100% this week alone. Trading in the shares was briefly halted due to high volatility. The stock last rose about 35% to about $ 58.
GameStop has sold more than 138% of its float stocks short, the most abbreviated name in the US stock market, according to FactSet.
The stock initially jumped higher last week after the company announced that Chewy co-founder and former CEO Ryan Cohen is joining the board. The news caused massive short coverage with hedge funds and other players rushing to cover their bets against the stock.
In the meantime, private investors also piled up, fueling the rally further. As of early afternoon trading, more than 92 million shares of GameStop have changed hands, quadrupling the 30-day average trading volume from 23.8 million.
Short-seller Citron Research has spoken out on the stock, saying buyers at these high levels are “the suckers of this poker game,” said a tweet Tuesday. Citron said GameStop will “soon” fall back to $ 20 per share.
On Friday, Citron said it would stop commenting on GameStop due to attacks from the “angry mob” who own the stock.
The stock is up more than 250% in 2021 after an increase of 209% last year.
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